Protecting mobile devices from malware is an integral part of mobile device security. As a result, security software developers are continuously seeking ways to improve the speed, efficiency, and efficacy of mobile device anti-malware systems. Many anti-malware systems detect malware by scanning files for known malware signatures. If an anti-malware system detects code within a file that matches a known malware signature, the anti-malware system may then perform a variety of security actions, such as quarantining or deleting the file. At this point, unfortunately, the malware file may have already compromised the security of the mobile device. This may prove especially true when malware is downloaded by app store clients (e.g. GOOGLE PLAY clients or IOS APP STORE clients). For example, traditional anti-malware systems on a smartphone may wait to scan an application until after an app store client has downloaded and installed the application on the smartphone. This window of time between installation and scanning, no matter how small, may be enough for malware to compromise the security of the smartphone.
What is needed, therefore, is a more efficient and effective mechanism for pre-installation detection of malware on mobile devices.